Learning To Hear Your Client, Speak Their Ideal Language And Some Interesting Marketing Pieces I've Discovered
By: Sandi Krakowski
Many of you know that I have a serious obsession for marketing. No matter where we are I'm dissecting, reading, assessing and learning. It's like it pops out at me and screams, "Pay attention to this!"
So today I invite you into my Scientific Laboratory Of Marketing to review with me some marketing that has caught my eye in the last several weeks. Who knows…. this might turn into a regular part of our new division in our company!
What do I mean? Well…. you'll get the formal introduction but let me just say that in the next 7 days we'll be launching the All New Emerald Membership of our company which includes among other things our 18-20 page offline newsletter, 1- training CD per month and marketing critiques, copywriting reviews, actionable steps for your business and more! It would be great to have "Breaking Marketing News" like I'm sharing below to help you add some 'very rarely thought of but definitely worth considering' marketing strategies!
Several THOUSAND of you will get a 12 page sample in the MAIL during the next 7 days…. so watch for it! I wonder if it will be YOU! 🙂
NOW…
Let's step into my "Marketing Lab" shall we?
As I was taking my kids to the local Walmart to get some detergent, toothpaste and other things that I want to pay the lowest price possible for *grin*… some of the following marketing pieces literally JUMPED out at me and begged me to review them!
The first example we'll share is the picture at the top of this article… and let me just say I am SURE it is bound to create a ton of responses! But before you begin to teach me about the poison in Splenda TM, how bad it is for your body and why it shouldn't be marketed at all… ( which I must remind you, we live in a free nation so people can market things that might not be the best choice for the public and if you want free enterprise we have to deal with this)…. let's look at the brilliance of this marketing piece.
#1- Marketing Brilliance– They made a sugar substitute look healthy by adding the 'buzz' words that the public has not only been programmed with but are actually asking for.
The introduction of Antioxidants, B-Vitamins and Fiber has been going mainstream through marketing for many years now. Most people (Definitely not those reading this newsletter!) are looking for sneaky ways to get nutrition. Most of you work out and eat your vitamins and wouldn't fall prey to such marketing…. but just in case you missed it… this is good marketing.
The question I have for you is this…. are YOU giving the marketplace what they're asking for?
I'm certainly not advocating selling something that isn't good for your clients but I am saying PAY ATTENTION to what the marketplace is doing. Pay attention….. and apply it to your business.
#2- Three Options- Look at that. They give you three options. Couldn't they have just put the B Vitamins, Antioxidants and Fiber into one form of the product? Well…. not if people have been marketed, programmed and instructed to not take too many B Vitamins, don't mix antioxidants and by adding just a tiny bit of fiber per meal, not a lot to your diet. This demands they market each separate and I'd be willing to guess they'll sell more with the labels as such.
This is why I call it brilliance. This company has paid attention to the marketplace.
Second Example Of Marketing And Listening Skills-
Let's look at what Giant Marketer Colgate toothpaste is up to these days, shall we? (Please don't write me about the option to buy good Organic Toothpaste, this is about marketing.. *grin* )
Colgate has two products here.
One is call "Optic White" and the other is called "3D White TM" but it doesn't stop there. They actually have on their website and in our local store Luminous TM, Max Fresh TM, Sparkling TM, Triple Action TM and even a totally different take on it, Ultra Brite TM!
Oh my word, I think I'll need to put here, all of these names are TM'd and are only being used as a marketing demonstration.
7 Choices.
7 Options.
What suits your fancy?
Colgate will sell it!
BRILLIANT! Pity the person who is still trying to market to only one person!
Third Example of Marketing Expertise!
It's the 94 cent special!
Reminds me of the "Blue Light Special" at KMart we used to chase around the store hoping to get the best deal. Oh dear…. the grooming in poverty I experienced as a kid. My parents meant well but folks, chasing a SALE because you're saving MONEY is a great way to LOSE money… unless of course you need what is on sale! 🙂
But check this out.
Are these specially priced for this amazing 94 cent option? No, they aren't.
These are items you could easily find, if you were the "Hunter Type Shopper" that I am…. at anytime in the store. If you were cautious to spend your good money on things that matter like good Organic Meat, Wine and Diamonds * teehee * you could go through the store at anytime and find these promotions. So what gives?
People want more for their money.
The business of Wal-mart is more for your money. Does it lure in people and cause debt faster than most stores especially on Black Friday and at Christmas? Absolutely. But we live in a world where people have a free will and can do whatever they want. They want more for their money. If you're smart, you'll give it to them.
Here's our answer …. presentation.
The presentation has changed.
Makes me wonder what a BigMac from McDonald's would look like on expensive plates with gold plated serving ware… but I digress.
(Note to attorneys… I am not bashing McDonalds, I'm not seeking to say that you can't eat a Big Mac on nice plates. I'm just saying it might look like a bigger deal than it is if it was served on those plates.)
The customer craves a bargain and the marketers KNOW IT.
They know it from the time they start to load up a promotion, create a Caddie or a Kiosk and they know that if they can bring the best deal… they'll sell more stuff!
The average purchaser at Walmart doesn't have a lot of money so they want MORE MORE MORE for their money, for crying out loud. And the marketers give it to them. Brilliantly!
If you want to succeed online or offline in marketing you are going to have to put your personal opinions and desires aside long enough to hear your client, listen to what they ask for and to give them the best you have!
This is today's lesson on listening to your client, speaking their language and doing more than you've ever done before!
Let me know how you will apply this in your business below! Fill in the comment box… best answer WINS a copy of our Total Online Blueprint we retired yesterday. I saved ONE LUCKY copy for one person with a brilliant mind! We'll choose the winner at noon on Wednesday, September 7, 2011. ET
